Finished Dave Duncan's 8 book series. A Man of His Word and A Handful of Men. First book was The Magic Casement.

Divided humankind into Jotnar-football/rugby like sailors who like to brawl. Goblins-like to rape and torture, not intelligent. Imps-Romans, order/structure/curious/physically nondescript. Fauns-stubborn and like animals. Fairies-? magic comes from them. Trolls-large, ugly, very peaceful, seemingly stupid, but not really. Dwarves-greedy, stolid, unimaginative. Elves-artists. Djinns-Arabs, treat women like shit. Pixies-similar to elves, very afraid, hide and live simple lives in the woods.

Did as is generally done with characters but for races. Stereotypes. But as I went to a local football game (got invited and went for the hell of it) I couldn't help but think of the jotnars as that's pretty much who surrounded me.

Sounds like no big deal and isn't really but I liked it while at the football game. At this stage of my life wanting to play football is very foreign to me and I guess I'll dvr the local college team's game but I certainly don't have much interest anymore. Maybe just because I'm back into tennis. Football seems very stupid. Lots of injuries. Lots of standing around. Few guys ever actually touch the ball. Very few plays that are actually fun to watch. But I always knew that, yet got into it anyway. Anyway now it's like a bunch of jotnar, perhaps with some goblins mixed in.

In the first four books the hero (Rap) is getting power (magic words give you power). And I like him. He isn't the typical perfectly bland harry potter type hero. For example trying to not hold it against someone that they're good looking. That's exactly the sort of thing I would think and it isn't quite typical. Super ethical. Refuses to take power, etc. The following four are not as good. Too many separate plot threads. Bouncing around too much to people I never quite care very much about.

And so very little bad ever happens to main characters... or at least that's how it feels. None of them ever die. And you know they won't. And it gives it a light hearted tone that doesn't draw you in quite as much.

Yes Inos (Rap's wife) does get raped. Somehow that even doesn't feel like a big deal. She easily deals with it. Rap does get tortured and wants to die at one point. But he has magical powers and then heals himself.

If someone important had died early. Well, Thaile's husband and child were killed... and she certainly didn't shrug it off. But there's just a light feel to the tone/style.

Anyway, 8 books. It was a nice escape from reality.